Development Chemist

SUMMARY:
Location: Gauteng, South Africa

POSITION INFO:
Are you passionate about chemistry, formulation and developing innovative coating solutions? An exciting opportunity is available for an experienced Development Chemist to join a technical team focused on developing, optimising and improving high-performance industrial coating products. The successful candidate will play a key role in new product development, formulation optimisation, raw material evaluation and technical troubleshooting, ensuring products meet performance, quality and production requirements. Key Responsibilities Develop and optimise industrial and protective coating formulations. Drive new product development and adapt existing formulations to meet local market requirements. Work with raw materials to identify alternatives, improve product performance and support cost optimisation. Conduct product testing, performance evaluations and quality investigations. Support production teams with formulation transfers, scale-up, troubleshooting and process improvements. Investigate product and customer complaints, identify root causes and implement corrective actions. Collaborate with technical, quality, production and commercial teams to deliver product improvements. Maintain technical documentation, formulation records and product specifications. Ensure products meet relevant quality, safety and performance standards. Minimum Requirements A BSc or equivalent qualification in Chemistry, Polymer Science or a related scientific field. Approximately 6-10 years of relevant experience in industrial or protective coatings development. Practical experience with epoxy, polyurethane and zinc-rich coating systems , as well as high-performance protective linings. Proven experience in formulation development, product optimisation and raw material evaluation. Experience with coating performance testing, quality control and production troubleshooting. Strong analytical, problem-solving and communication skills. Advantageous Experience Exposure to multinational organisations or global R&D teams. Experience with coating standards such as ISO, ASTM or AMPP\/NACE. Experience transferring formulations from development into full-scale production. What's on Offer? A technically challenging role with opportunities to contribute to product innovation. The opportunity to work on industrial coating solutions and formulation improvements. A competitive remuneration package, dependent on experience. Interested in taking the next step in your R&D career? Apply today with your updated CV to be considered for this opportunity.